Beyond Destiny
by oedipusaurus rex
Summary: HUGE SPOILERS FOR ENTIRE MANGA! LightL, sorta AU. Second chances, diffrent circumstances. Two men, with sharp wits and strong wills found themselves facing off in a game of death. But could they have another purpose? For the world? For each other?
1. Death

Poco here! This is my first DN fic, so be gentle. I'm going to **warn** you: this fic contains **spoilers for the entire series.** If you haven't read all of Death Note, and don't want the ending ruined for you, **don't read this.**

Also, there will be some really pretty gay overtones, and AU. This is a fiction that centers on **Light **and **L**, so if you're not into that...well.

Disclaimer: As much as I love Death Note, it belongs to senseis Ohba and Obata. Not me. Don't sue!

This here is a teaser for the chapters to come. It takes place during/after chapter 107, so like I said, huge spoilers. If you like it, review, and maybe I'll update faster! (wink wink)

* * *

_"Nothingness", Ryuk had said._

_  
Could I truly be destined for nothing more? Of course, I was not naive enough to believe in a Heaven or Hell, and certainly not after what I had done. But it still seemed wrong, somehow, that Kira, that the God of the new world, could simply...die._

_  
I was frantic, at the end, all the calm collected intellect and calculation disappeared in the face of this terrifying truth._

_  
Thirty-four seconds._

_  
It couldn't be._

_  
Thirty-five._

_  
Not me...I couldn't._

_  
Thirty-six._

_  
There had to be something._

_  
Thirty-seven._

_  
How could I have lost? How COULD I?_

_  
Thirty-eight._

_  
The fear, the disbelief, the rotting feeling of failure._

_  
Thirty-nine._

_  
I closed my eyes hard. This was it. Game over.  
"Shit..." I muttered, eloquently, and then..._

_  
Forty._


	2. Balance

**Poco again!** Wow, three reviews! I'm so happy! Like I said, more reviews make for speedier updates. And KAPOW! Here's another chapter, after only one day!

This is my first DN fic. I know I said that in the first chapter blurb, but I want everyone to know that they need to tell me if anyone's particularly out of character. I'm sort of worried that the rest of this won't live up to the first chapter either. I'm not a very good suspense writer...so, I want your input:D

Again, I don't own anything, there's yaoi, there's spoilers, and so on and so forth.

Have fun with this chapter, and don't forget to leave a review!

* * *

_Forty.  
_

I shut my eyes tight, anticipating the pain, terrified of death, and then...

Nothing.  
Slowly, I opened my eyes again. Everything was white. I squinted into the light, stunned and relieved. A resonant, female voice seemed to be coming from all around me.

"Yagami Light." It was a simple statement, deilberately delivered.

"Yes?" I asked. "W...who are you"  
Ignoring my question, she continued.   
"Kira. L. The self-appointed angel of death. You thought you knew what justice was? You, a mere human, thought you had the right to judge who was fit to live or die?!" Tones of anger swelled as she came to the close of her sentence. I could not speak. What was this? What was happening?  
"You've got some balls."  
A good-natured chuckle rebounded from everywhere at once. "Yagami Light, do you know where you are, or why you are here?"  
Searching for the source or the speaker, I shook my head.

"Everything has balance, Yagami Light. Day has night, spring has autumn...Death has Life."

I quickly grasped what she was hinting at.  
"So you...are the opposite of a Reaper? You can choose who lives?"

I sensed, rather than saw, a nod.

"There are rules, but yes," the Voice replied, "I can determine life"

"Then...then, you could..." I found myself asking. I was dead. I had nothing to lose. "You could bring me back?"

It sighed.  
"I'm afraid not. Like I said, there are rules. But there is something I can do. Everything has balance, even you. I can give you a chance to find it."

It sounded good. At least, better than oblivion. There had to be a catch, I thought, almost out of force of habit. But then, what could the catch be? My immortal soul? There was no Heaven or Hell, so that was out of the question. I was already dead, presumably. Still, there had to be something...no one just gets an unconditional second chance.

"What do you mean, my balance?" I finally asked after a long pause.

"There is...someone, like you and yet different in every way. I cannot tell you who or why. You will understand soon enough." A name flashed through my mind, but I pushed it aside. There were more important things to worry about right now.

"Then how will I find them? What will happen when I do? How will I know if it's the right person?"

I could sense a smirk, though I could see nothing but the whiteness.

"You will know," the Voice replied, almost a taunt. "So will you accept?"

"Hold on," said my calculating self. "There's no catch? Really?"

Now a sheepish tone became evident.

"Well..." it began, "your memories will be forfeited until you have completed your task..."

Forfeiting memories? I should have guessed. Well, it was only temporary, assuming I succeeded (and I intended to. Light Yagami does not fail, his current situation notwithstanding.) And what memories did I have that I would not give up gladly?

Again, that name. No! As if to prove to myself that I would not be influenced, I stood up straight.

"I accept."

A smile filled the air.  
"As I thought. Go," the whiteness seemed to gesture.

And then, with a hit of amusement at the obvious cliche, "Your destiny awaits."


	3. Arrival

**Poco again!** Wow, so many nice reviews! Thank you all. You make me enjoy writing this! I'm so happy you like it.

So now we're getting into the body of the story. Don't worry, L will show up soon enough. One thing I'm not sure about...I've read the manga over and over, but never once have I found Ryuuzaki/L's real name. I'll use "Lawliet" for now, because that seems to be prevalent on but if anyone can tell me where I can find out...maybe my scanlations are just bad.

I think this chapter is a little longer...I think. So, enjoy! .

* * *

My eyes widened slightly as the white appeared to be closing around me. I could almost feel it on my skin, and then... 

"Hey." I heard myself groan. Augh, I felt like someone had reached into my chest and turned me inside out.

"Hey, you. Get up!" repeated a slightly bored-sounding voice. I opened my eyes...(the word 'again' crossed my mind, though any reason for that thought was rapidly escaping.) I was draped rather uncomfortably across what might have been a desk, looking straight up at an utterly unenthused young woman.

"Finally," she muttered. "Sorry. I'm not usually so rude to newcomers, but it's late, and you're all over my work..."

I looked down to see my naked body covered in graphite from a notebook I had fallen on.

"Well?" Asked the girl. I hadn't noticed her move. She held up a towel, and I gratefully climbed down from the desk and wrapped it around my waist. I never was very fond of showing myself to strange women. She took me firmly by the wrist, then, and led me toward the door.

"Hey, where...?" I asked, slightly stunned by the speed at which things had transpired.

"Wammy's. He'll want to see you, he likes to meet all the newcomers." The girl explained calmly, still a bit bored--or was it tired?

"Wammy?" I pressed her a bit.

"Yes. He, Lawliet and I all arrived pretty much together," she said as we exited what I presumed was her home. I shivered at the indignity of having to walk along a public street wearing nothing but a bath towel. She dismissed it as the cold, or pretended not to notice, it didn't matter which, simply continuing with her story.

"At first, we thought we were the only ones, but we discovered others scattered about the city. It was Wammy's idea to start an academy"

She turned a corner, the glare of a lone streetlight catching her bright white hair. White hair--how odd. She was unusually tall as well, and her long steps were getting more difficult to keep up with.

"I've always thought it was strange," she added, rounding another corner and half-dragging me behind her. "It's such a big city, but it's so...deserted."

One last corner, and then I could see what must be our destination--An old building with the lights on. Sure enough, she approached it and knocked on the door.

"It's Rem," she called. "I found another one."

"Bring them in," said a man's voice, warmly. The girl--Rem--opened the door to reveal a grandfatherly old man sitting behind a large oak desk.

"Welcome," said the man. "I am Quillish Wammy, the head of this academy."

He spoke these words as if they were important, when I suspected we both knew they meant little more than the second-place ribbon in a two-person race. Looking me boldly in the eye, he began the inquisition.

"What is your name?" I had to search for a moment for the answer to this, which struck me as odd. Shouldn't I know my own name?

"Light Yagami, sir."

"And where do you come from?"

The realization hit me like a ton of bricks.

"I...I don't know." I didn't know anything--who I was or where I was or what I was even doing here, but I'd be damned if I would let a strange man know all of that.

"You don't know anything, then, do you?" He asked sympathetically. Shit. As if reading my mind, he assured me,

"No one does. This is a city with no memory. We are all no one here. Light Yagami, was it? Let's get you some clothes. I'm sure the ghosts running the tailor shop won't mind if we borrow some things. Once you're dressed, come back here and I'll provide you with quarters and you may begin courses here."

"I never said I wanted to attend!" I thought, but stopped myself before the words left my lips. The truth was, I did want to go here. Much as I hated to admit it, I doubted I could survive for very long in this deserted place all on my own, and it wouldn't do me any good to estrange myself from the 'others', whoever they were.

"All right, sir. I'll do just that"

"Good. Have Rem guide you to the place. She seems to be doing a fair job of that so far."

Almost as an afterthought, he added,

"Oh, and none of this 'sir' buisiness. Simply 'Wammy' will suffice."


	4. Meeting

**Poco here.** I know I confused a lot of people with the last chapter. I'll clear up as much as I can, but you'll have to bear with me.

Outside of that, all I can say is...Light's nekkid! ;

Hopefully some stuff will start to make a little more sense in this chapter...(So my pitch is, "If you want to know WTF is going on, keep reading"? Or maybe "You're supposed to be confused"? o.O)

Duuuuude. L's name is L? That's so weird! But hey, maybe his parents were hippies. Or consonant enthusiasts. Thanks to Samu, anyway, for clearing that up!

Also, writer's block reared its ugly head just now, so expect delays. Sorry about that! (That's why this part's so short. Really, really sorry...)

Anyway...on to the chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

As Rem led me out once more into the sickly phosphoresence of the streetlamps, I tried to walk a little more proudly. If there were only a few people in the city, it wouldn't matter much if I ran down the streets completely naked, anyhow. Mostly, it served me twofold: one, it would appear to Rem that I was far less bewildered than I actually felt, and furthermore, I was starting to feel more confident even from acting like it. "Bewildered" was not a word I liked on myself.

The tall girl stayed silent for the most part, and I let her. It seemed we had little to converse about, neither of us remembering anything outside this ghost town. I had questions, of course, but I felt confident I could gather the answers without revealing how much I didn't know, nevermind that it was likely common knowledge. I was finding quickly that the only thing more uncomfortable than not knowing something was having others be aware of that fact.

What could I possibly be doing in a ghost town, naked and with no memory of how I had gotten there? From the few words Rem haid said to Wammy, and myself before that, I supposed that I had somehow just appeared...but why? And more importantly, how?

For no reason that I could fathom, I felt like I was trapped in a fishbowl. And I realized that if there was one thing I knew, I wanted to get out.

I returned to the makeshift "Academy" triumphant, clad in a sharp-looking chocolate-colored buisiness suit, and more importantly, an air of dignity. It was one of those things that made me feel like myself: _Light Yagami makes an impression_.

This time I heard a new voice wafting through the dusky halllways. Younger, richer, and convinced of itself. And I was drawn in instantly by it. Rem, who I quickly learned could read people nearly as well as I could, caught my fascination.

"That's Lawliet," she said simply, as though it were enough. And strikingly, it was.

Lawliet was a man that no epithet would stick to. Even a part of his name seemed to have slipped off into the ether, as I later discovered. He all but defied description, and yet everything about him was a story. He sat in the front of the room, knees tucked to his chest and bare toes gripping the lip of the chair. Scruffy hair fell into wide eyes, which gave him an almost childlike appearance, though the expression they held was far beyond that of a child. His body language spoke of unsurpassed intellect, yet there was something not in keeping with this characteristic. Even a glance revealed him to be a puzzle of a man. I was intrigued by him, I couldn't help it.

"Oh, Rem!" He invited my guide in cheerily.

"I thought you'd be here," said Rem with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Always working. Don't you sleep?"

"Haven't felt like sleeping lately," he lied, stifling a yawn. Catching Rem's expression, the scruffy man backpedaled. "Well, maybe, but there are more important things to do and I don't want to waste time." He popped a panda-shaped biscuit into his mouth with finality, daring Rem to contest him further.

"Working on what?" I asked flatly as I leaned out from behind the tall woman, and his face lit up.

"Ah! A newcomer!" He brushed off the question, or perhaps didn't notice I had asked. "So you didn't just come down here to attack my personal habits." He raised a teasing eyebrow to Rem, before turning his owlish gaze to me. "And who are you?"

"Yagami Light," I said. "And you must be Lawliet."


End file.
